Dallas waves the white Flagg...Mavs/Wolves GDT

[AbeVigodaLive]

Abe's "this sure seems like it's gonna be a lackluster gameday thread" DVR Review:

- only 39 posts? Yeah. Seems about right. A depleted Mavs team + dog days of the season + a stretch of games + turmoil in real life.

- Dallas is only 10/24 on challenges? That's a terrible percentage. AND... not enough challenges. I think I remember hearing the Wolves were like 29/42 a week or two ago. Made me think about this forum and how'd we react if Finch and Co. were THAT bad at challenges. It would be a running topic at that point, right? Say what we want about FInch, but it seems like they have some sort of strategic system in place when it comes to challenges. It's telling that Jason Kidd does not.

- And then... the Wolves lose their challenge, too. oops.

- Sloggy game. Uneven officiating is to blame. I do like Q's conspiracy theory though. It seems to track.

- A lot of talk about the BIG lineup. But McDaniels promptly ruins it with two really bad fouls right atter another guarding Christie. It's like he said... "Nah. I don't wanna play the 2. Let me stop this nonsense immediately."

- Amusing to hear Grady and Jim Pete talk about the cookie jar being carried to the hand... and then being snarky about the OCK game tonight.

- Beringer just does stuff. His energy is obvious. I've seen "steal of the draft" accolades about him. And he might provide great value for a #17 pick. At the same time, my outlook is slightly tempered that he is a specific type of player which limits his ceiling and ultimately his impact. Excited to see him more.

- Was hoping for a couple more buckets to make the 4th quarter irrelevant so Edwards, Randle and others could preserve energy for tonight.

[FNG]

Abe, the Wolves' challenge success is a nice feature of this team. Two things have to happen to make challenges successful...they have to be impactful by coming at a critical time, and they need to be correct. I think Finchy does a great job on the first part, and assistant coach Jeff Newton does a terrific job on the second...he's the young guy with the beard and the ipad in the second row. To make challenges work, you need to really understand how referees think, and you need to be objective...and the second element is both vital and challenging. Our coaches are a lot like us...they want to win badly, so they are generally going to see a play in a way that favors their team. Just look at our GDTs for evidence of that! Newton must have the ability to stay objective, because otherwise he wouldn't be having the success he's having. He's a big asset for this team.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Abe, the Wolves' challenge success is a nice feature of this team. Two things have to happen to make challenges successful...they have to be impactful by coming at a critical time, and they need to be correct. I think Finchy does a great job on the first part, and assistant coach Jeff Newton does a terrific job on the second...he's the young guy with the beard and the ipad in the second row. To make challenges work, you need to really understand how referees think, and you need to be objective...and the second element is both vital and challenging. Our coaches are a lot like us...they want to win badly, so they are generally going to see a play in a way that favors their team. Just look at our GDTs for evidence of that! Newton must have the ability to stay objective, because otherwise he wouldn't be having the success he's having. He's a big asset for this team.

Agreed. Sometimes you win in the margins... especially in today's sports world where teams do a lot of work and spend a lot of money on little things that add up over time.

And yes... there are two parts to winning a challenge. (1) the call is wrong (2) you're challenging the right type of call with a clear benefit from it (see avoiding key fouls, free throws, etc. vs. just getting the ball side out of bounds, random foul without free throws, etc.)

[Q-is-here]

Beringer just does stuff. His energy is obvious. I've seen "steal of the draft" accolades about him. And he might provide great value for a #17 pick. At the same time, my outlook is slightly tempered that he is a specific type of player which limits his ceiling and ultimately his impact. Excited to see him more.

Yeah, reminds me of the Clark excitement which has since been tempered. Although I think being a Center that does those sorts of things can have a bigger impact than a wing that does those sorts of things. Also his age....lots of opportunity to develop some of the skill stuff (ball handling and shooting from various distances) he got a late start on since he was a youth soccer player.

[Q-is-here]

Abe, the Wolves' challenge success is a nice feature of this team. Two things have to happen to make challenges successful...they have to be impactful by coming at a critical time, and they need to be correct. I think Finchy does a great job on the first part, and assistant coach Jeff Newton does a terrific job on the second...he's the young guy with the beard and the ipad in the second row. To make challenges work, you need to really understand how referees think, and you need to be objective...and the second element is both vital and challenging. Our coaches are a lot like us...they want to win badly, so they are generally going to see a play in a way that favors their team. Just look at our GDTs for evidence of that! Newton must have the ability to stay objective, because otherwise he wouldn't be having the success he's having. He's a big asset for this team.

Agreed. Sometimes you win in the margins... especially in today's sports world where teams do a lot of work and spend a lot of money on little things that add up over time.

And yes... there are two parts to winning a challenge. (1) the call is wrong (2) you're challenging the right type of call with a clear benefit from it (see avoiding key fouls, free throws, etc. vs. just getting the ball side out of bounds, random foul without free throws, etc.)

Newton is terrific and sort of helps me understand better why teams employ massive cadres of assistant coaches these days. I still feel the number of assistant coaches is a little ridiculous, but if you have a guy that becomes a world-class challenge expert it could definitely win you a couple games.